The Fall of the Digital Wall
by inglix
Summary: After surviving the horrors of Sword Art Online, Kirito is sent on a mission to save the Digital Wall. By going back in time, he sets out on an adventure to recruit humanities strongest to aid him in his task. However, not everything goes to plan.
1. Welcome To the New World

Kirito stumbled as he arrived at his destination. He was tasked with going back in time to get the most skilled swordsman from all through time. "Time travel really takes it out of you" Kirito mumbled stretching and cracking his knuckles. He was standing alone in a field, surrounded by a giant wall with the face of a princess engraved on the gate. When all of a sudden a giant foot came flying down from overhead, he only had a split second to react and jumped to the side to unsheathe his sword. As the metal of his sword clashed with the sheath, the giant seemed to reach down to pick him up. The world seemed to freeze. Kirito was in the giants grasp, however he could hear the sound of anchors impaling soft, dilapidated bricks. "Found you!" Kirito said excitedly to himself.

Mikasa was shouting across to their squad leader Levi to warn him about the Titan which lied dead ahead of them. "We'll take it out in no time... oh my Maria is that a person" Mikasa explained noticing Kirito being grabbed by the Titan. They dashed forward as quickly as possible followed by Eren, Historia, Sasha, Jean and Armin. They all moved in sync with each other like they had a telepathic connection but all they had was the trust they shared. Jean made the first strike towards the achilles of the Titan. It fell to the ground. While Mikasa and Eren were distracting the Titan, Armin was cutting up the muscles in the arm to help get Kirito free since he was the one who knew the anatomy of a Titan most, well besides Hanji who basically adored the things. Sasha and Historia standing by on a nearby rooftop when a deviant type came running mindlessly towards then crashing into the buildings causing havoc. They instantly threw themselves into the action when Levi came spinning in and sliced the nape of the Titan with ease. The other Titan was loosening his grip on a now unconscious Kirito, he dropped to the ground with a thud and Sasha and Historia instantly came to his aid. Eren and Mikasa exchanged a look which told them it was time. Mikasa slashed the titans eyes blinding it, this created a golden opportunity for Eren to strike the neck. "1 m long, 10cm wide" he screamed as he impacted the skin. His blades pierced the Titan which was now collapsing to the floor in a lifeless state. As the steam cleared from the disappearing Titan, Levi squad had saved yet another survivor from the Shiganshina district.

7 days passed since the time travel and Kirito was just awakening when he noticed Hanji sitting across the room playing with his sword. "Ah you're awake, I wanted to know what material is this sword made of it is unknown to me?" Hanji asked inquisitively. "It's called 'The Dark Repulser' and it's formed with Crystallite Ingots, a rare ore found where I come from." He replied sitting up. "Can you tell me where you are from and who you are please?" She asked quite forcefully. "My name is Kirigaya Kazuto and I am from Japan in the year 2025 but you can call me Kirito" he replied. Hanji seemed to be taking it all in and deducting it all in her head and at last she said "And why are you here?" She didn't seemed fazed by the fact that he was from another time. "I have came to recruit all those worthy of helping our cause" Kirito said. Within a split second Hanji was onto her next question "and what is your cause". "To stop the digital wall from being destroyed!" He replied with a sense of determination in his voice.


	2. Caught in the Crossfire

**This Chapter was written by my good friend Aoifediamandis.**

**Tumblr - yuuustu-heichou**

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As soon as the words left Kirito's mouth, Hanji's face had a clear expression of alarm. She cocked her head in confusion, unsure as to whether he was referring to the walls Rose, Maria and Sina or something entirely different. Noticing her dazed expression, Kirito opened his mouth to elaborate but was interrupted when a young looking cadet burst through the door.

"Squad leader, Hanji!" The young cadet gasped, struggling to suck a suitable amount of oxygen into their failing lungs. Hanji looked at them with a fearful look, to which the soldier just simply nodded. Rising from her seat, Hanji returned Kirito's sword to its place on the bedside table before dashing out the door.

"I'm sorry but I must go, I will return soon" she called, only managing to get the words out before the door slammed shut. Kirito was taken aback, unsure as to what had just happened. He shrugged his shoulders, he didn't know what to expect when he accepted to go back in time to the year of 853, but this just seemed too surreal compared to the freedom of 2025.

Freedom. The word burns in Kirito's mind as his thoughts direct towards the memories of being trapped in hell for 2 years. A year had now passed since they had left the game, and though he hated to think about it, he couldn't help but be grateful for the time he spent there. Nothing could bring the 3853 people who died back, but he had a feeling that many more had perished to what the soldiers had called Titans. Above that, though it seemed selfish, if it wasn't for those 2 years he never would have met Asuna.

Kirito shuddered at the thought of her name and how he had lied to her once more about his mission. Whenever danger was a factor, he would do anything to make sure Asuna was out of the crossfire, much to her unknown dismay.

The soldier across from him in the room cleared their throat before apologising for intruding; Kirito dismissed him with a wave of the hand. The soldier soon left, leaving Kirito on his own with his thoughts. Though he had come here with a clear objective, he was not yet sure how he was going to defend the digital wall. All he knew was that he needed the help of a strong swordsman who went under the title of 'Humanities strongest' and was believed to be worth more than 100 soldiers. Rubbing his temples, Kirito tried to remember the information and descriptions he was given of this place and its residents.

Year 852, an era where humanity are on the brink of defeat by a peculiar species called Titans. These creatures can be between 6 and 15 metres tall, with few exceptions that Kirito was not told about. He had established that the human race were living in three walls, the outermost named Wall Maria, the middle named Wall Rose and the inner named Wall Sina. Though he had only been conscious in this time for a little amount of time, Kirito was already beginning to feel the humiliation of being caged by large slabs of brainless flesh.

However, Kirito's mind flashed back to the soldiers who had arrived soon after he was grabbed by a Titan. Remembering their brave and determined faces as they worked and flew in perfect harmony, easily predicting each and every movement of their fellow soldiers. Metallic sounds of swords being unsheathed and the crack of stone as the anchors of their gear penetrated it at immense speed. He remembers the swishing sound as bodies swung agilely through the air with little effort, spinning at high speeds and acting without mercy. A distinctive member stood out to him, he was short man with a pristine and expertly tied cravat who seemed to move at the speed of light. Of all of the soldiers who came to his aid, he was most definitely the strongest and most experienced. Then everything clicked.

He had found his swordsman.


	3. View from the Window

**This Chapter was written by my good friend Charlotte**

**Tumblr - heichou-knows-best**

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The room he was in was pretty bare, only containing a bed, table and chair. His sword lay on the table; clearly they trusted him. But why? Unsteadily, Kirito pulled himself up onto his knees, shuffling over to the window. Down below, a group of people were gathered, talking amongst themselves. One of them was Hanji, who he been speaking to a few minutes earlier. She seemed to be giving instructions. The short solider who he had spotted earlier was nowhere to be seen. A cool breeze tickled his face, reminding him of the time he had spent with Asuna when they had taken a break from the front lines. Although he could see many women and girls in the group down below, none of them were as beautiful as his girlfriend. Suddenly, a few more soldiers emerged from within a the castle. The second they were spotted by the others, the chatter stopped and everyone quickly shifted to perform a sort of salute, with one hand in a fist over their hearts, the other curled behind their backs. Among the soldiers who had just appeared was the man Kirito was looking for. He stood much shorter than the others but had obvious authority. He was accompanied by a tall girl with short black hair, a small boy with blonde hair and another boy with dark brown hair and a few bandages wrapped round his hands. The tall girl was observing his closely. Kirito strained to hear what they were saying, but he was far too high up. His head began to ache but he wanted to observe the short soldier's every move. After a few short commands, the company mounted horses and rode away quickly. Exhausted, Kirito flopped down onto the bed once again and fell fast asleep.

Hours later, he awoke to the sound of voices and may footsteps. Sitting bolt upright, he rubbed his eyes and gasped in alarm as the door was flung open and people crowded in. Hanji was among them, smiling and giggling in an almost insane manor.

"This sword is useless" came a voice from the back. The group parted to reveal the short swordsman carelessly tossing his precious sword about, wrinkling his nose at the sight of it's dirty hilt.

"Hey-" started Kirito, but he was soon cut off.

"I suppose I should introduce myself; my name is Squad Leader Levi" The room was silent for a moment.

"Tell me why you are here, Kirito" Levi sighed, a bored look on his face.

"We need to stop the digital wall from being destroyed!" he cried, trying to sound as strong as possible.

"Digital wall?" repeated the blonde boy curiously. It was clear that no one in the room had any idea what a digital wall was. In fact, the most advanced piece of technology they owned seemed to be canons.

"Armin doesn't even know what this boy is talking about!" a male voice excalimed loudly. There were far to many people in the crowded room for Kirito to see who it was.

"Stop it Eren"

"Owwwww Mikasa, that hurt!"

Levi advanced forward, staring Kirito in the eye. The cravat at his neck was perfect white, his hair shining black. Everything about this soldier was crisp, clean, dangerous.

"You have a lot to say for someone who couldn't even defend himself against a titan!"

Kirito's heart began to pound. Glancing around, everyone seemed to doubt him. Hanji was the only one smiling, but her attention wasn't focused on him. She clearly had other things on her mind. Desperately, Kirito tried to remember the information he had been told before the time travel, searching for something which might make sense to these people. But everything was too modern, too complicated. This task was going to be much more difficult than he originally anticipated.

"Armin, try and get some sense out of this boy. If you can't get anything, me and Hanji have some other methods to try" commanded Levi before he swept out of the room accompanied by the others. The blonde boy smiled at Kirito with big, baby blue eyes. It was time for questioning.


	4. The Interrogation

**This chapter was written by me. **

**M****e and my friends are going on a cycle where it is me, Aoife then Charlotte.**

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The interrogation was under way, Kirito was sat down on the bedcleaning his sword after the masses of people had manhandled it. "I'm not going to hurt you, you know, but you will get hurt if you don't answer me now" the blonde haired boy said.

"Okay…" Kirito replied, feeling uneasy by the thought of interrogation. Sure he had been interrogated before, but that was about Sword Art Online.

"My name is Armin, can i ask you how you got here?" the blonde haired boy named Armin said.

"I time travelled" Kirito replied hastily, Armin seemed taken aback by his answer, he had not heard of time travel, yet alone it even being possible. Pulling out a little notebook, he jotted down what he had just said and asked him "And what time was it that you came from?" he wasn't kidding now, Kirito could sense the seriousness in his voice and felt it was best not to patronise him.

"I am from the year 2025, I live in Tokyo with my cousin Suguha and i was tasked with the mission of coming back in time to find a highly skilled swordsman who could help protect the Digital Wall from being…" Kirito was cut off when a loud rumble shook the earth underneath them.

"Probably just a tremor, so what exactly is the Digital Wall?" Armin replied, completely calm despite the fact the Earth just shook.

"It is the wall between the real world and the virtual one."

"Virtual?" It was then that Kirito realised that they didn't even have electricity never mind Nerve Gear.

"Ermm… It's err…" He couldn't find the words to describe it since he had grown up with technology. "It's future technology, but I couldn't help notice your holsters, what are they?"

Armin glanced down at the holsters and looked back at Kirito with confusion.

"Are you sure you don't have these in your time?" Kirito nodded. Armins face twisted in shock, the difference in time based era was making this interrogation much harder than it should've been.

"By the way my name is Kirigaya Kazuto but you can call me Kirito." Kirito tilted his head to the side and smiled. The tall girl with the dark hair he saw from his window earlier burst into the room.

"Mikasa?!" Armin exclaimed in alarm as Mikasa panted and gasped for breath. "You gotta see this!" she exclaimed.

They both dashed out of the room as Kirito decided he was sick of sitting in the infirmary. He picked up his sword, which was now thoroughly clean as he had cleaned it throughout the interrogation, and left. Kirito found he could barely keep up with the two of them as he dashed past rooms identical to his. He glanced in everyone of them only to find injured people who had missing arms or legs which he guessed was inflicted by the 'titans'. As he was exiting the building Mikasa stopped him, "Hey!" Kirito shouted but was instantly cut off as Mikasa spoke to him in a firm tone.

"Don't attract attention!" Kirito knew she was queen bee around here.


	5. The Digital Wall

**This Chapter was written Aoifediamandis**

**Tumblr - Yuuutsu-heichou**

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Kirito moaned as he got the feeling of being restricted in this new world. Exiting the building the sun shone on Kirito's face making it gleam in the sunlight. If the team had been looking close enough, they may have noticed the practically unnoticeable tinge of pixels and code that made up his current body. The three of them continued to sprint at physically impossible paces, Kirito beginning to feel his stamina rapidly depleting. A thought crossed his mind, wondering what sorts of training the soldiers of this time had to go through.

Mikasa's strong and confident voice broke his thoughts from straying any further. "I swear, it's impossible to catch a break arou-" She cut herself off as soon as she found herself, along with Kirito and Armin, in front of a giant wall.

Yellow code changed at rapid paces, a plain black void resting behind it. Mikasa and Armin stood stone cold and still, a look of pure confusion and fear pressed firm on their scarred faces. Kirito knew it was about time he explained.

"Welcome to the Digital Wall. I think it would be best if I explained what is happening before any unnecessary precautions are taken. The Digital Wall is practically the mainframe that controls what is real and what isn't or what is virtual and what is reality. It may sound strange now, but everything will become clearer but right now we need to stop this very wall from being destroyed." Kirito's voice sounded exasperated and desperate yet firm and confident at the same time. Mikasa and Armin's gazes softened slightly at the explanation, they could feel a growing trust in the boy with peculiar, black hair.

"Wait, what mean we need to stop it from being destroyed. Are the Titans trying to breach it? Why do you need us?" Armin's tone was desperate and straightforward, Kirito only shook his head and readied the words for his next explanation in his head.

"I can't give you all the answers right now, but I can assure you the Titans have nothing to do with this. Just, trust me." Kirito's voice was uneven as he spoke, putting everyone on edge.

This was serious.


	6. Code Contact

**This chapter was written by Charlotte.**

**Cover art also created by Charlotte.**

**Tumblr - heichou-knows-best**

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The trio stood in silence for a few moments, staring up at the huge wall, flickering and changing in front of them. Code moved at an unreadable speed, causing Kirito's eyes to strain and Armin and Mikasa to look away.

"This wall seems higher than the Colossal Titan!" exclaimed Armin, shielding his eyes from the sun. He took a step towards the code, examining it closely. Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats approached from behind. It was Levi and Hanji, accompanied by Levi's squad. Eren leaped down off his horse and ran up to Mikasa and Armin.

"What's he doing here?" he asked, shooting daggers at Kirito, clearly jealous.

"He was with Armin when I called him out here" Mikasa explained flatly. Turning, Eren looked up at the wall.

"I have never seen something like this before…" He quickly fell silent as Levi walked over, glancing at the yellow code disapprovingly.

"Is this safe to touch?" Levi asked, sounding bored. Before Kirito could reply, Eren reached a tanned hand towards the Digital Wall.

"NO!" cried Kirito loudly. He had received a thorough explanation of what would happen if human skin came into contact with the pixels. Mikasa acted on impulse, grabbing Eren's arm tightly. With a huff of annoyance, he pulled away, stepping backwards into Armin. Before Kirito could catch him, Armin made contact with the Digital Wall. Pixels flickered across his skin, spreading up his arms which he had held up to defend his face. He yelled, clearly in unbearable pain. Levi immediately sprung into action, grabbing Armin under each armpit and pulling as hard as he could. Although he remained silent, he was clearly struggling. Taking a deep breath, Kirito unsheathed his sword. This was the first time he had used it since the modifications had been made. A line of code was snaking from the wall onto Armin, providing a line which Kirito could slice. He brought the sword down as hard as he could, severing the line. Armin collapsed into Levi's arms, unconscious.

"Eren you idiot!" cried Mikasa, shaking him by the shoulders. Hanji had leaped down to take Armin from Levi, looking intrigued. The sleeves of his jacket had disappeared from wrist to elbow, revealing the skin underneath. Kirito knelt down next to the unconscious boy. Taking a close look at the injuries, he shook his head. Scarring the pale skin were red perfect red squares. With a spluttering cough, Armin opened his eyes.

"We must assist Kirito" he murmured before his head lolled to one side once again.


	7. Pixel Problems

**Hello everyone, I am just going to inform that from now on I will be updating weekly, this is so we have more time to refine the chapters and make them the best they can be for you, sorry for any inconvenience. :)**

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Multitudes of people came racing out of the main building in which Kirito was staying, it looked to be some sort of castle, Armin was quickly surrounded by people of all shapes and sizes and was rushed into the castle. "What just happened!" Eren screamed in Kirito's face,

"He started to become virtual" he replied trying to patronise Eren after rudely shouting at him.

"What the hell does that mean!"

"You Won't understand"

"Eren back off, he will explain later but for now let's go check on Armin" Mikasa injected as she started to pull Eren towards the castle. Everyone around was looking directly at Kirito,"So much for not attracting attention" Kirito mumbled to himself and followed Mikasa and Eren inside the castle. Kirito was now once again walking down the hallway of the infirmary staring into every room until he came across Armin, he glanced in to find Eren crying over his best friend. Mikasa was standing in to corner trying to hold back the tears, these three had been together for most of their lives and now since Kirito had arrived everything in this world was going downhill. Kirito found it best to stay outside until the crying subsided but it didn't, so he decided to find a room and stay there the night.

The next morning he found himself very weak and one of his fingers was now made of a bunch of pixels, he grabbed his sword and started for Armin's room but was stopped by the short Man with the cravat, the one he came here to recruit."Excuse me can i have a word?" The short man asked quite politely,

"Yeah, sure" Kirito replied nonchalantly.

"I need to be sure, no one will die while that big ass digital wall is still there"

"I can't guarantee it" Kirito admitted, thinking it would be best to be honest. As soon as the words left his mouth the short man walked away without even acknowledging the fact that people will die. Kirito marched down the hall to where Armin was only to find that Eren was still there sleeping next to his best friend. Kirito quietly moved into the room and looked at Armin who was awake. Armin's face was pixelated like an image that had been zoomed in on too far and his arms were emitting pixels, he was shivering though it was over 25°C outside and Kirito came to the conclusion that Armin had post traumatic stress disorder. Armin began violently shouting "Mom!" waking Eren up in the process. He was startled by Kirito and stumbled over his words"It's not what it looks like" Kirito just nodded and whispered "We better leave him for a while". Kirito reached out a hand and pulled Eren away, however Eren tripped over his stray shoe that was lying on the floor, causing him to fall into Kirito's arms, their lips almost touching. Eren pushed himself up and began frantically searching for his shoes, flustered from the close proximity of their lips, and put them on. "Sorry about that" but by the time he had said that, Kirito had already left.


	8. Broken Promises

**This was written by Aoifediamandis**

**Tumblr - yuuutsu-heichou**

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Asuna awoke with a yawn. She scanned the familiar surroundings of her bedroom with half-lidded eyes, heavy with fatigue. Rays of sun softly shone through the pale curtains, casting light on the pale furniture and spreading warmth throughout the room. Rolling over to her left, Asuna expected to be met with the face of her lover as she lifted an arm to drape across his chest. However, she found herself alone.

Bolting up in alarm, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and ran out of the bedroom. Worriedly checking every room of their small apartment, she looked for any signs of where Kirito could be. It was only dawn, and surely he would tell her if he was going out. Wouldn't he?

Concern flooded her emotions as she frantically snatched her phone off of the kitchen counter and rang his phone. One ring, two rings, three rings. With each ring Asuna tensed up, pleading for him to answer; he never did.

In a fit of worry, she quickly called the rehabilitation clinic that Kirito visited whenever he was assigned to a mission. Her fingers crossed over, begging that he hadn't lept into a mission without telling her, not after promising that he wouldn't.

After two rings the phone was answered, Asuna stumbled on her words before finally pressing the much dreaded question.  
"Is Kirito there?" Her tone was unsteady and lacked the confidence she desired. "Asuna? Hello, I didn't expect you to call at such an ear-" Asuna cut off the nurse on the other end of the line, picking up on her bluff instantly.

"Is Kirito there?" This time, her tone was nonchalant and impatient. Frantically, the nurse gave her the answer she so desired. "Y-y-yes, he i-is" Asuna scoffed at her response, before instantly hanging up.

Anger rose inside of her, she felt betrayed and lied to. Impulsively, Asuna threw her phone across the room and flung on some suitable clothes. Before she knew it, she was out the door of the large apartment complex and waving down a taxi to go to the hospital. A frown was ever present on her usually soft and kind face, her lips pressed into a thin line.

As the taxi pulled up at the hospital, she paid the fair and stormed towards the entrance. Her hands were buried deep in her trench coat pockets and her heavy footsteps echoed in the silence of dawn. She continued to strut past the reception desk and towards the familiar ward where she knew Kirito would be. Sighs of frustration left her lips as she recalled all the promises that were made, and so purposefully broken.

As she reached the room Kirito usually works from, she raised a hand and inflicted three heavy knocks on the door. Footsteps could be heard running quickly towards the door before it opened with a slight 'click'. The nurse waved her in, not bothering to send her away knowing full well that she wouldn't leave.

Walking into the plain, sanitary room, Asuna noticed it was lacking something. Realisation and more frustration became clear on her features as it dawned on her. It lacked the same presence that was missing when she woke up. Kirito.

"Where is he? You said he was here!" Asuna's voice was impatient and almost pleading, though she was angry, she was also confused and certainly concerned. Once again, the nurse beckoned her to sit down on a couch that was placed in the corner of the room. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Asuna played with the hem of her skirt, waiting for an explanation of what was going on. She was angry, confused, worried and sick of waiting around.

"I can see you are upset but hear me out okay?" After a nod of approval from Asuna, the nurse carried on with her explanation. " Kirito has been sent back in time to the year of 854, though it seems impossible, breakthroughs in technology have shed light on the situation. Anyway, we have sent Kirito on a mission to retrieve a skilled swordsman from that era to help him defend the Digital Wall from falling."

As soon as the last few words escaped the nurses mouth, Asuna gasped. She knew how dangerous that wall was, depending on the situation.

"It's fighting back, corrupting people and even more casualties will occur if Kirito doesn't do this. He requested that nobody knew in fear that they -mostly you- would follow and also be put in danger."

"_No more dangerous missions without telling me?"_

"_I promise"_

"_Your burdens are my burdens, please don't try to carry them alone. I don't want to lose you"_

"_I promise. I'm not going anywhere"_

Tears sprouted in Asuna's eyes at the memory, did he even mean it? Did he even care? Questions flurried her thoughts and she felt nauseous, only one idea was springing to mind and for once, she wasn't scared.

"Send me back."


	9. Called to the Corporal

**This was written by Charlotte**

**Tumblr - heichou-knows-best**

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The next day, Kirito was called to Corporal Levi. Confidently, he knocked on the door twice before he was called in by the Heichou. He lounged on a chair lazily, a cup of tea balanced between his finger.

"Sit" he said, staring at the boy coldly. With a wave of his hand, he indicated to an empty seat in front of him. Kirito sat down quietly.

"Were you aware that this so called 'Digital Wall' could cause a human this much damage?" he inquired, sipping his tea. A boot-covered foot tapped the wooden ground impatiently as he waited for an answer.

"Yes" replied Kirito, almost whispering. His confidence had quickly evaporated, leaving his hands shaking and eyes cast down.

"Is there a way to fix Armin? Is there a cure?" When Kirito didn't reply instantly, Levi continued to speak.

"You see, Armin is one of the most valuable soldiers in the Survey Corps. He is certainly not the strongest, but his intelligence is extremely high and he often assists us on strategies. He was also the only one who believed you."

A small gasp escaped Kirito and he raised his head to look at the Corporal's face. His expression was unreadable, yet Kirito knew he was telling the truth. He had to help Armin in any way he could.

"We do have devices which could remove the virus from the wall, but they are all back in my time and were still under development…"

"Bring one here"

"I would have to send a message back, but since the it's so far in the future, it might not get there in time…"

"In time? Do we have a time limit now"

Levi's voice had changed, slowly increasing in volume and bitterness.

"W-well what Armin has received from the wall is a kind of virus, which are quite common where I come from, except they infect machines and not people. Since he is very unused to this high level of technology, he also appears to have post traumatic stress. Most of the time, it is easy to remove a virus but if left, they can cause things to shut down, turn off…" There was a pause. "...die"

"How long do we have?" Levi hissed, his face twisted with irritation and anger. Kirito took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if the Corporal was angry because there was a chance that they could lose a very important intelligence source or if he was angry because he actually cared about his soldiers. Inside his chest, his heart was pounding.

"We have 3 days"


	10. His Best Friend, at his Funeral

Hello! Aoife here, this chapter has been written by Adam. This is where the story kind of begins to pick up, so bring tissues!

Warning: **Manga Spoilers**

TW: **Violence and Injury**

I hope you enjoy this chapter, i know Adam is certainly proud of it. Until next week.

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Darkness surrounded Kirito, as did titans. He lifted his sword as he began to fight when all of a sudden Levi's Squad appeared from nowhere. Before they could reach him, the titans devoured him and he was drifting in an eternal sleep. Flashing through his head were images of Asuna, her beautiful smile fading was his recurring nightmare, he knew he would hallucinate too this is why he saw Asuna, Sachi, Lizbeth and Sugu all around him, the time travel was really getting to him.

Kirito awoke after having this nightmare covered in sweat, he clambered out of bed and instinctively reached for his phone on his bedside table but it wasnt there and neither was Asuna. He glanced down to notice his arm was now entirely made up of pixels; It was almost time. Kirito walked out of his room and started down the corridor of identical rooms, he looked in Armin's room to find Eren once again sleeping next to his best friend. His heart rate sped up as he thought to himself, he could never save that poor boy.

Emerging out of the castle, the sun beamed off the morning dew and onto his face. Unconsciously, his hand moved to his sword as he saw the digital wall, now fenced off from the public but still an eyesore. Running away from the castle, Kirito noticed Armin looking out of his window with a look of confusion on his face but Kirito continued to run back to where he had arrived, the place where he will go home; the Shingashina District. Curious faces looked at him as he made his way through the town but all he saw was Asuna, he missed her and regretted lying to her.

When he finally arrived at the stable where he commandeered a horse which he thought he would call 'Jean' for some unknown reason. Several hours passed as he rode towards the fated district and only when he was a few miles away from the wall of the District did he realise he had the titans to deal with. His mind flashed back to that first day, his first encounter with a titan, the feeling of being powerless, he never wanted to feel like that again.

When his horse seemed to strut with high levels of sass when entering the District, Kirito then changed the horse's name to Crowley as it seemed more appropriate. Crowley galloped forward the wind, blowing his mane out of his long face, Kirito's hair also blew out of his face revealing his radiant skin made up of multiple bits and bytes, this is when he saw a titan.

The titan's eyes fixated on Kirito's like they were having a staring contest, Kirito made the first move by instructing Crowley to move in the opposite direction but this titan swung it's arm and knocked Kirito flying into a nearby building. The titan casually walked over buildings to reach Crowley, who was lying on the ground in considerable amounts of pain, the titan picked up Crowley and tore him in half.

Fighting back tears, Kirito renamed the horse to Marco since he thought it was even more appropriate now. Kirito scrambled on the floor looking for a projectile to launch at the titan, he grabbed the nearest rock, which was the size of his fist, and threw it. It bounced off the titan with a thud, and the titan came crashing to the ground, dead.

"Hmm, rocks work" Kirito said to himself before noticing another titan standing directly behind the titan he had just killed, It had long black hair and had a striking resemblance to Eren. This titan came dashing at Kirito but stopped about 15 metres from him. He reached down his hand to reveal Mikasa sitting on the palm.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Mikasa firmly asked Kirito not phased by the fact she was sitting in the hand of a titan.

"Err.. I needed to get back to my point of arrival so I can travel back to my time and get the machine to heal Armin, but just one question, WHY WERE YOU SITTING IN A TITAN'S HAND!"

"Oh..err, thats my brother" Mikasa replied, Kirito's face twisted in confusion.

"You see he is what we call a Titan Shifter, People who can take the form of a titan" As soon as the words left Mikasa's mouth the Eren Titan fell to the ground and out of the nape of the neck emerged Eren.

"We currently know of 5 Titan Shifters; Eren, The Rogue Titan, Annie Leonhardt, The Female Titan, Bertolt Hoover, The Colossal Titan, Reiner Braun, The Armoured Titan and Ymir, The Dancing Titan." Eren walked over to the Kirito and stated "You need to learn to protect yourself, if i hadn't killed that titan you'd be dead" Though Kirito was slightly taken aback by the sudden statement, he kept quiet.

Mikasa reached out a hand to help Kirito up, to which he gladly accepted. "We'd better get going" Mikasa hurriedly said as if trying to rush Kirito.

They quickly started for the entry point of Kirito's arrival into Shingashina, but this journey was far from safe, they encountered multiple titans on the way. However, most of them were dead before they even noticed the trio.

After 2 hours of walking through the District they arrived at their destination, Kirito was once again standing in a field surrounded by the wall of Maria but this time he wasn't alone, he had friends by his side, people who he trusted and he would do anything to save their best friend. Ambling to the exact point of his arrival, a titan footprint remained in the grassy field.

Walking over to the point, he turned back to Eren and Mikasa and shouted "I will save Armin!" At this point he pulled out this device which looked like a little egg and started pressing buttons, simultaneously a Digital Wall type looking thing opened up above him. Presumably the portal back to his own up in confusion, Kirito's face twisted with alarm.

"This isn't suppose to happen!" he murmured to himself. He stared into the portal and saw the face of his beloved Asuna, he shook his head thinking it was another hallucination however he heard her soft voice scream his name.

"_What?!"_

Asuna was falling towards him and she landed on him head on, they both crashed to floor. Though alarmed at her sudden and unexpected arrival, the broken time remote caught his attention. Without it, there was no way of return.

They both stood up and looked over to Eren and Mikasa who had looks of awe and alarm on their faces, they exchanged looks and looked back at the Kirito and Asuna.

"Please tell me you can still get back to your time without that" Mikasa's tone was almost pleading hoping that the answer would be 'Yes'

"I'm afraid...Not" Kirito replied, looking down at the floor with sorrow.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM" Eren screamed as he bit his hand. A flash of light burst out from where Eren was standing and the Rogue Titan arose from the light, instantly going for Kirito.

Asuna instantly jumped in front of her lover and screamed "STOP!"

Eren hesitated slightly, long enough for Asuna to draw her rapier from her belt and slash Eren's legs. Eren swayed slightly, letting out a loud groan but quickly regained his balance. He then drew back his leg before swiftly launching it forward, launching Asuna into a nearby building.

Kirito decided enough was enough and drew his sword, a look of apology flashing on his face before grabbing and unexpecting Mikasa by the neck."STOP OR SHE DIES!" Kirito screamed. You could could see the look of worry on Eren's face as his form stood perfectly still at threat. After a few moments, once again, Eren emerged from the nape of his titan's neck. Instantly, he rushed toward Mikasa, screaming a slur of apologies.

However, Kirito was too busy dashing toward Asuna, her frail form crumpled against a building. When he got there the sight was awful, blood stained her hair, her shoulder was dislocated, cuts scarred her face and worst of all a long sharp rock had impaled her hip leaving blood dripping out of the wound. Her rapier lay next to her, snapped in half. Picking her up, Kirito walked towards the siblings with a cold expression on his face.

It was a long walk without horses and the 3D gear doesn't work well, if not at all, on flat ground. It took 3 days to arrive back at Trost, and by the time they had arrived they were already setting up for Armin's funeral. They knew this is going to be their welcome, though it didn't stop it from hurting.

Walking down the corridor once again checking in every room, he emerged outside to find Levi's squad all dressed in black, they were all walking in unison with each other like they were telepathically linked. Kirito guessed this was due to their complete trust in each other, and their lengthy time as a squad.

When they arrived at the graveyard, the ceremony began. It was small and hardly sentimental, Kirito could only assume that they couldn't afford anything fancier. However, Kirito didn't feel the reality of the situation, until he looked toward the lump of rock that was used as a gravestone.

_'__Armin Arlert, A Best friend to everyone, he died a soldier and will be remembered as a friend. R.I.P_'

Glancing over to Levi's squad, Mikasa, Eren, Jean, Historia, Sasha and Connie were crying, even Levi was showing a look of slight distress, the rain disguising their tears. Eren was the first to walk up to the mound of dirt that lie beside the coffin, before grabbing a handful of dirt and throwing it on top, a sob escaping his throat as he did so.

This continued for what felt like decades of remorse, until the last person walked over. Kirito.

The handful of dirt felt heavy in his hand as he raised his closed fist in the air and threw the on the coffin.

"I will avenge you, I will do everything in my power to protect the Digital Wall. I WILL NOT LET IT FALL!" Lightning struck at the end of his statement. the heavy rain continuing to bounce off the ground, drenching everyone. Silence fell as everyone closed their eyes, silently praying for the young man who had lost his life, a young man who was a credit to the Survey Corps and a loyal friend. The rain began to slow before eventually stopping, a single ray of sunlight penetrating the grey blanket of clouds hanging over them like a canopy

At this moment Kirito was sure, Armin was at peace.


	11. The Calm Before the Storm

**This chapter was written by my good friend Aoife**

**Tumblr - yuuutsu-heichou**

* * *

Death. It creeps up on a person, bearing it's deceiving fangs that lead you to hell. Pathetic yet so natural, an ugly truth as opposed to the beautiful lie that was life. A peaceful sanctuary where not a single soul can hear your pleas for help, a field where sound becomes a mere echo, drowned out by the gentle rustle of leaves. Pain and fear are washed away in a river of tranquillity, your thoughts and memories tainted and painted in red. Death was just an escape, not a luxury.

Thoughts and philosophies flooded Mikasa's emotionally deprived mind. Malevolence fighting to take over her pure feelings of melancholy as she mourned her friend's death. Minutes, hours, days had passed, or so she thought. Tracking the time had long since been forgotten, all she knew was that she hadn't left her room for a frightening length of time. Knocks continued to sound at her door, day after day, begging for her to make an appearance; but she never did. She simply sat secluded in a dark and damp corner of her room, allowing pathetic tears to escape her flushed eyes. Never had she felt so inadequate.

Knocks continued to sound at the door, persistent and firm. Feebleness washed over Mikasa's deprived body, struggling to find the strength to lift herself from her position on the floor. Starvation and dehydration had regressed her body into a frail and shaken state, her voice long gone due to the coarseness of her throat. Constant pain shook her muscles in a dull ache, admonishing her of the deplorable state she was in.

"Mikasa, i'm coming in." A rough voice sounded from the door, even in her abstracted state, she could tell the voice belonged to Levi. Keeping to his persistence, the door silently opened lackadaisically. Mikasa hugged her knees tighter, her entire body tensing up with each nearing footstep. Sombre emotion engulfed her, dragging her down into a deep, desolate pit.

Tremors raked through her body as she let out a strangled cry, the slow footsteps turning into a sharp run to where Mikasa was grieving. Strong arms enveloped her fragile state, comfortable warmth radiated as she unconsciously leaned into his touch. Her face found his neck, softly sobbing into it.

"How do we justify what we have died for?" Mikasa's broken voice quietly echoed throughout the drab room, taking Levi by surprise. "How do we allow ourselves to be broken, through deep consternation, without reason? Why do we have to subject ourselves to such absurdity?" Mikasa's tone became desperate and pleading, begging for an answer she knew no one could find. It was an age old question, a question of doubt and denial.

"Grief is a price we pay. We don't get the luxury of choice, we simply continue to accept our fates and take the bullshit that the military throws our way." Levi's tone was harsh and mocking, Mikasa had no choice but to accept his answer. In her current state, she could hardly bring herself to question his words, fatigue tugged at her, forcing her to stay quiet.

What she had lost, _no_, what _they_ had lost was irreplaceable. Though she knew sitting and crying wouldn't bring back the dead, Mikasa couldn't think of anything she would be useful for in her state. For the girl worth 100 soldiers, she certainly felt lost and depended on Levi's unusually soft touch to keep her sane. Kisses were pressed to the crown of her head as he whispered reassuring words to her, calming her sobs.

"Don't let his ghost become your enemy. Remember what you're alive for" The words sparked something in Mikasa, her crying coming to an instant stop. _She was alive_. Revelations sprung through her mind, she was alive in this cruel world and if she didn't fight she couldn't win. Lies, they were all just lies she had told herself in order to live.

Armin may be dead, but she wasn't, and if she was going to avenge what he died for, she had to fight. Determination grew, overtaking her malevolence and destroying the melancholy that forced her into a dark abyss. The hole her feelings dug wasn't deep enough, and she was already climbing out, shining and ready. The world would suffer, even if she had to first.


End file.
